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J. MERRILL & G. PATTEN.

OONDENSING APPARATUS.

N0. 11,485. Patented Aug. 8, 1854.

JOSHUA MERRILL AND GEO. PATTEN, OE BOSTONQMASSAGHUSETTS. 3

REFRIGERATOR MARINE ENGINES.

specification of Letters Patent No. 11,485, dated August 8; 1854.

ma coma; it

' Beit lmown that we, JOSHUA MERRIL and GEORGE both of Boston, in the county of Sufiolkand State of yMassaohusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Condensers for Marine 9 andotlierEngines, and that the following description, taken in connection jwithflthe accompanying drawings, hereinafter referred tmformsa 1111 and exact specification ofthe sainawherein we have set forth the nature and principles ot er said improvements, by WliifcHour invention'may be distinguished fi'om-others of a similar "class,together with sir-ch parts as we claim and desire to have secu'red "to-us by Letters Patent;

Thefig'ures ofthe accompanying plate of drawn-age represent i ur improvements;

Figure 1, is aside elevation of anordiary conde ser, with our improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is acent'ral longitudiverticalisectionlfof the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of our condensing apparatus, take in the plane ofthe line A? B, Figxl. his a horizontal section of the same, taken in the plane of the line 0,13, Figs. 1 mac. Fig. 5 is a detail View whiehwill he hereinafter referred to.

Before describing the construction of our condensing-a aratus in detail, we will proce'ed to statesome of the diificulties to be 'overeome and theadvantages tobe attained by our improvements.

"Among the desiderata to be secured by our condensing; apparatus, may be men-ltioned as some of themost important the folguardedflagainst, as loose joints are occa+ *1 sinned thereby, consequently the salt water in theoatsidesof the tubes, permitted j to mingle withthe fresh waterin the ins1de,

or that which enters "the boiler.

Another improvement which constitutes one ofthe most essential features of our invention, consists separating the hotwater or condensed steam to be cooled, into a thin fil rh't'r sheetof water, and surrounding this with" h largest possible amount of cooling surface. In this mannercooling is effected much more rapidly, than by sub-y jecting a denser body ofwater, to the same amount of coolingsurfaceL We have also made an important improvement, by which the oil which necessarily collects jinthe condenser, and is drawn off with "the water-by ;the air pump,is conveyed to a separate veslsel whence it can readily be removed. L The presence of oil or other impurities in the fresh water, has proved a serious inconven ience in all surfacecond'ensers, which have heretofore been devised. By our improve ments this obj ection is entirely obviated,

Having thus stated thejgen'eral principles of our invention, and the objects to be at?" tainedQthereby, we shall now proceed to describe in detail the construction of ourap'paratus.

a, a, in thedrawing's, represents a con? [fresh water. A, pipe 72 b connects thecon denser with an air pump 0, constructed in the usual manner.

frigerator, or watercooling apparatushby which the condensed steam or hot water, drawn from the condenser a, a, by the a r pump, is to be cooled. This refrigeratoris d, 0?, represents theouter casing of a re constructed as follows: Two chambers e,

are formed at top and bottom, bythe hori zontal plates g, h, which serve as; supports and heads, to a series of pipes i, t, vertically "arranged, and connecting the chamber 6 at the top, with the chamber fat the bottom.

Immediately under the chamber 6, and 'over the chamber 7, but having nodi'rec't communication therewith, are two "chambers 1 76, Z, formed bythe horizontal plates m,"n, and communicating with each other bythe cylindrical pipes 0, 0, &c., through which the pipes 2', 2', connecting the chambers e, 7,

pass, as shown indetailfinFig. 5, leaving an annular-space outertube 0. d d d Such being the construction of our refrigp, between each pipe i,jandits eraton'or water cooling apparatus, it now remains to show the manner {in Which, its

operation is 'connectedwith that of the air pump 'and conde'nser, whereby the, efi'ectuail cooling of the hot water, and "rapid conden sat-ion of the steam, is e e'cted. A pipe 9,

connects the air pump with a vessel '1","fro'm the bottom of which a siphon or bent tube .9, leads to the chamber k, of the refrigerator.

By this arrangement, the injection water and condensed steam, wh ich is drawn by the air pump from the condenser a, a, first passes into the vessel r,,and the oil-which may be in the water, delivered by the air pump will rise to the top in the vessel whence it can be removed through the pipe t. The oil can-thus. be removed before enteringthe refrigerator, as the siphon or bent pipe 8, which communicates with the cham ber 70, is, inserted in the bottom of the vessel 'The" hot water thus drawn from the condenser, and delivered through the pipe 5, passes into the chamber 76, and thence down through'the annular spaces 79, between the pipes z, and the outer tube 0, into thechamber Z. The cold water for cooling the hot water in the annular spaces 29, is supplied by a branch pipe u, '0, one branch to, communicating with the spaces around the larger pipes 0, and the other branch '0, leading to the bottom chamber f, which com- 7 municates with the smaller pipes 2'. The cold water thus forced in through the pipe u, '01, is by the above described arrangement, circulated through the smaller pipes 2, and

i, around or about the outer surface of the larger pipes 0, keeping both sets of pipes at a very low temperature, whereby the hot water which is'passing down through the annular spaces p, is rapidly cooled and passes into the chamber Z, thence through a pipe "w, to, back again into the condenser a, a,

where it is used again for condensing the .steam, which has been exhausted into the said condenser. The cold water in the refrigerator, after being used for cooling the condensed steam in the annular spaces p, passes out through a branch pipe as, y, one branch leading from the upper horizontal chamber 6, and the other y, from the spaces about'the larger pipes 0.

From the foregoing description it will be seen, that by our refrigerating apparatus, the condensed steam or hot water, is separated into thin films or sheets of water, and

,conveyedthrough. annular spaces which af- I ford, a great amount of cooling surface, and moreover that the surfaces which form the annular spaces are kept constantly cool, so that both sides of these films or sheets of H ,hot water, are brought in contact at the same time with a cold surface, as the cold water passes as herein before explained both through the pipes i, i, &c., which form one of the surfaces of each annular space, and

-. ;1around the exterior of the pipes 0, 0, &c.,

which form the other surface of the said annular spaces. In this manner the cooling of the hot water is rapidly effected, as a small quantity of heated water is acted ,upomand surrounded by the largest possible any additional supply, except such as may a be lost by leakage or otherwise, while the salt water may be used for the cooling;

'medium, without danger of mixing with.

the fresh water jetted into the condenser.

In contriving our improved refrigerator;

we were well aware that the device of con: ducting any heated fluid to be cooled or condensed between two currents of cold 'liquid,.had been :the subject of prior inventions, and that the interstitial spacethrough;

which ,the'heate'd'fluid was conducted, was 51 secured through the medium of concentric tubes orparallel rectangular chambers, said tubes or chambers being arranged in a zig zag form or convoluted; .But in all such instances the steam or fluid to be cooled, has;

been received out of one single opening and discharged at another and a single opening, so that the length of pipes or convoluted chambers necessary for efiectually coolingthe same, wasvery great, and the friction of the currents of water in the pipes or on the side of the chambers very considerable, and the time required for the operation correspondingly great.

The great purpose of our invention, is

to economize time and space in condensing,

operations, and the distinguishing feature. of our improvement that enables us to se.-,

cure these results is, that we receive the steam to be condensed or liquid to be cooled into a large chamber in the upper part of the refrigerator, and immediately subdivide it into-numerous thin films, and conduct them through the annular spaces between the concentric tubes, and condense at once.

into a chamber in the lower part of the re-U ,frigerator.

I By these peculiar means, the cooling or condensing is effected-almost as quickly, as it would be by the steam or liquids intermingled at once withthe cool ing element, and in a much more rapidway than by any other processes herein above in-' dlcated, while the space necessary for the condensing apparatus, is diminished in. a.

very great ratio to that required for the convoluted or zlgzag pipesor chambers above referred to.

we shall state our claims as follows:

. v Having thus described our improvements We do not claim conducting the; condensed,

steam or hot water through an annular space for the purpose of cooling it, as thttt has before been done, but

What We do claim and desire to have secured to us by Letters Patent, is

1. Our improved refrigerator or Water cooling apparatus, consisting of the concentric tubes and the chambers above and beloW the same, combined and arranged as herein above described, whereby the condensed steam or hot Water is conducted into annular spaces, separated into thin films,

and brought in contact on both sides with cold surfaces, the cold water or cooling 

